Special Topic: Greek Art in the Making - ARC00099H

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Module summary

This module will explore change in Ancient Greek visual art, especially figure-painted pottery, from the Archaic to Hellenistic period. Through this narrative, we will explore understandings of art and "artists" in archaeology, as well as theories and mechanisms of change. This will include discussion of the scholarship and public understanding of Greek art itself, from antiquarian collectors to the development of the computerised Beazley database in the 1980s. We will conclude with an exploration of depictions of Greek art in contemporary media.

Related modules

A directed option - students must pick a Special Topic module and have a choice of which to take

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2026-27

Module aims

Special Topics focus upon the archaeology of a well defined time, space or theme and the modules seek to allow students, in small groups, to focus upon primary source material and to apply to it the theoretical and thematic perspectives learned over your first and second years. The aim is to facilitate the acquisition of deeper knowledge of one aspect of the past than has been possible in more general courses.

Specifically this module aims:

• To examine the scholarly approaches to and range of evidence for the understanding of change in Greek art, including the nature of the term Greek art itself.
• To evaluate and critique the challenges surrounding the depiction, display and study of Greek art in scholarship and contemporary culture.
• To develop research, analytical and communication skills.

Module learning outcomes

In completing this module, students should be able to:

• demonstrate a broad and comparative knowledge of Greek visual art 
• critically discuss and assess the key theories, methods and debates, and their limitations
• critically evaluate primary data and evidence
• communicate an in-depth, logical and structured argument, supported by archaeological evidence

Module content

Through the lens of Greek art, with a special focus on figure-painted pottery, this module will explore the history of Greek art from Geometric origins to Etruscan "imitations", including methods of manufacture and distribution. We will use this rich history to explore archaeological understandings of early economies, the nature of fashion and the extent to which we can understand past change through modern terms. Change in material culture will be examined, including the application of evolutionary models to non-functional attributes. The identification and understanding of such attributes will also be examined. The scholarship of Greek art itself will be surveyed, including debates such as the importance of figure-painted pottery relative to taphonomy and Beazley's attempt to identify schools and hands through repeated details, which formed the basis of one of the first dedicated archaeological research databases. Concluding sessions will cover the depiction of Greek art in contemporary culture, including its appearance in games such as Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and films ranging from Clash of the Titans (1981) to 300. By the end of the module, students will have an understanding not only of Greek art, but also of methods for understanding change in material culture in the archaeological record.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Oral presentation/seminar/exam	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Oral presentation/seminar/exam	100.0

Module feedback

Formative: oral feedback from module leaders in class

Summative: written feedback within the University's turnaround policy

Indicative reading

• Boyd, R., and P. J. Richerson. 1985. Culture and the evolutionary process. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press
• Neer, R.T., 2019. Art & archaeology of the Greek world. Thames and Hudson Limited.
• Osborne, R. 1996. Greece in the making, 1200-479 BC. London: Routledge.